Why was Tsar Nicholas II of Russia unpopular?

a. Tsar Nicholas II, ruled the Russian empire in 1914, who was an autocratic ruler.
b. The Tsar could not tolerate any challenge to his authority and his rule was not subject to control or regulation by the Parliament.
c. Under his regime the nobility enjoyed high position and power for their services rendered to the Tsar.
d. The Czarist regime was completely insensitive to the plight of the common people.
e. The workers were given low wages, had to work under terrible conditions.
f. No political parties were allowed to function in Russia till before 1914.
g. The 1905 events, the participation of Russia made the Czarist regime highly unpopular and paved the way for revolution.

  • 16
 Tsar Nicholas II was a tsar who reigned during Russian political instability and junction. A period during the end of Tsarist Russia and the beginning of Communist Russia 

Compared to Nicholas I, Nicholas II was a weak tsar. He was not a brutal autocratic tsar. But rather a bumbling and undecisive leader in a period of change. 

In the post Enlightenment era with all the progressive social reforms and political thinking in Western Europe. Russia lacked and Russian citizens wanted reform. Society was still based on Catherine the Great's reign. Absolute monarchy and aristocratic families dominated the political institutions in Russia. The lower classes were at the mercy of aristocracy. 

In addition the Romanov royal family and other aristocratic families were living in resplendent luxury compared to the abject poverty the majority of the citizens lived in. A typical imbalance of wealth during the middle and late 19th century. 

War had ravaged Russia's impoverished citizens. The low class felt neglected and oppressed. It was a perfect atmosphere for the the socialist/communist philosophies of Karl Marx and Frederich Engles to gain a foothold in Russia. 

These are the main reasons why Nicholas II was an unfavored tsar.
  • 2
What are you looking for?